Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced yesterday that it will be reducing its fulltime workforce by more than 3,000 employees, raising serious concerns given the immigration case backlog and broader geopolitical context, particularly the potential for drastic changes to U.S. immigration policy under the Trump administration.
A reduction in workforce capacity at this critical juncture could undermine our government’s ability to meet the evolving needs of the Canadian public and support the federal response to these new challenges. We support cost saving measures such as reducing this government’s outrageously wasteful reliance on outside contractors, addressing bloated senior management structures, and exploring ways to reduce real estate costs—such as by granting remote work rights to more employees. These alternatives can save money while minimizing the impact on public service capacity and our country’s ability to fight back.
CAPE is calling for these arbitrary proposed job cuts to be put on hold until Parliament resumes, and a clear national direction can be set. We now face a critical point in our relationship with the United States and must do everything to ensure that Canada’s ability to respond remains strong and capable, prepared to meet the challenges of both today and the future.
